The City Council on Wednesday is scheduled to vote on a measure that would hire Milwaukee, Wis. firm Duncan Solutions to collect delinquent debt from defendants who owe the court money.

The firm would be paid from the fees it collects, so there will be no taxpayer money incurred because of the five-year contract the council is set to approve.

New Jersey municipalities were given the go-ahead to use debt collectors to gather unpaid fines by a 2011 state Supreme Court rule. Bridgeton was the first city permitted to collect fines via a debt collector.

Matthew Weng, attorney for the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said the lobbying group is “very happy” municipalities now have the option of using an outside debt collector. With a 2 percent tax-levy cap, towns and cities are struggling to come up with cash, and are too understaffed to do it on their own, Weng said.

“There’s a lot of money out there in uncollected court debt, and it’s money that’s legitimately owed by these individuals, who for whatever reason have decided not to pay,” he said.